Colossians 3:16-17
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
Today I was reminded yet again how important it is to have my mind informed by the Word of God. When someone asks me for advice or input, how quickly I am tempted to answer from my own opinion without taking the time to consider how it lines up with scripture. How easy it is to exalt my own opinion or the opinion of others in these situations.
If my mind is being informed and trained by the word of God, I will answer from God's Word and not my own. First opening the word and searching it for guidance to find those passages that will speak to the heart of the issue, providing a biblical principle to direct their path. Paul tells us in Colossians that we are to let the Word of God richly dwell within us, residing there. As the Word dwells in us we will be enabled to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom - not the world's wisdom but God's wisdom. I want that to be true of me, don't you?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Weddings
" Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.' " Genesis 2:18
Good godly weddings are good for marriages :) They are like little pep talks along the way that keep our feet firmly on the right path.
I happen to love weddings... especially at our church. I'm biased I know but somehow I just seem to be so blessed by those weddings. Here are just a few reasons why {and some really great ideas in case you need them :) } .
Our pastor is so practical, encouraging, and straightforward with his messages. He always exhorts the couple getting married as well as reminding us "already marrieds" what a godly marriage is supposed to be like.
Many of the couples have waited until their wedding day for their first kiss - so sweet and so rare.
A few have had a band of our own young adults play worship music to begin the ceremony- how perfect of a start is that?
The level of joy and rejoicing is always so high - it's a celebration!
And the number one reason I love weddings at our church... Christ is exalted. With Christ at the center of marriage from the ceremony forward, that marriage will succeed by His grace. Now there's a reason to rejoice!
Good godly weddings are good for marriages :) They are like little pep talks along the way that keep our feet firmly on the right path.
I happen to love weddings... especially at our church. I'm biased I know but somehow I just seem to be so blessed by those weddings. Here are just a few reasons why {and some really great ideas in case you need them :) } .
Our pastor is so practical, encouraging, and straightforward with his messages. He always exhorts the couple getting married as well as reminding us "already marrieds" what a godly marriage is supposed to be like.
Many of the couples have waited until their wedding day for their first kiss - so sweet and so rare.
A few have had a band of our own young adults play worship music to begin the ceremony- how perfect of a start is that?
The level of joy and rejoicing is always so high - it's a celebration!
And the number one reason I love weddings at our church... Christ is exalted. With Christ at the center of marriage from the ceremony forward, that marriage will succeed by His grace. Now there's a reason to rejoice!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Firmly in His Grip
Brothers and sisters in Christ...God (Who is faithful) knows right where you are, just what you need, and how to take care of you. Trust Him, He has everything under control. You are firmly in His grip.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Decline of the Gospel
Recently we had a special speaker, Colin Marshall, come to our church and he shared this thought:
1st generation preaches the gospel
2nd generation assumes the gospel
3rd generation denies the gospel
I have been meditating on this since I heard it. The natural flow of human nature seems to be that we decline spiritually from generation to generation unless someone picks up the baton of the gospel and preaches it to their own generation and the next. Every generation stands on the edge of that slippery slope.
The second generation slips when we assume our Christianity. For me that translated this way...
we go to church, we own bibles, we go to "christian" activities, we live in "christian" homes BUT do we ever preach Christ? The temptation might be to assume that because our lives or our children are filled with "christian" things that we are therefore christian.
The reality is that we are sinners prone to wander, prone to feed our flesh. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves, to our families, to our church family, to our friends, and anyone else we come in contact with.
Think of it this way, would we expect to become full of knowledge by just owning (not opening) a beautiful new set of encyclopedias? Of course not. Then how can we expect to become disciples of Christ by just owning a bible and never reading it OR by going to church and never applying what we are taught? It is said that Christianity is not caught, it's taught.
Christianity can be defined this way: being a follower or disciple of Christ. So let's consider thinking about our "christianity"... are we just playing christians - going through the motions, making our appearance on Sundays, and never pursuing Christ Himself? Or are we Christians - reading and meditating on His Word, coming to Sunday morning ready to hear God's Word and learning how to apply it, and sharing the gospel and pursuing Christ.
Let's not assume that our activities or the activities of those around us are equal to a relationship with Christ... let's proclaim the gospel until the Lord comes again... to ourselves and to others to every single generation. Pass it on.
1st generation preaches the gospel
2nd generation assumes the gospel
3rd generation denies the gospel
I have been meditating on this since I heard it. The natural flow of human nature seems to be that we decline spiritually from generation to generation unless someone picks up the baton of the gospel and preaches it to their own generation and the next. Every generation stands on the edge of that slippery slope.
The second generation slips when we assume our Christianity. For me that translated this way...
we go to church, we own bibles, we go to "christian" activities, we live in "christian" homes BUT do we ever preach Christ? The temptation might be to assume that because our lives or our children are filled with "christian" things that we are therefore christian.
The reality is that we are sinners prone to wander, prone to feed our flesh. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves, to our families, to our church family, to our friends, and anyone else we come in contact with.
Think of it this way, would we expect to become full of knowledge by just owning (not opening) a beautiful new set of encyclopedias? Of course not. Then how can we expect to become disciples of Christ by just owning a bible and never reading it OR by going to church and never applying what we are taught? It is said that Christianity is not caught, it's taught.
Christianity can be defined this way: being a follower or disciple of Christ. So let's consider thinking about our "christianity"... are we just playing christians - going through the motions, making our appearance on Sundays, and never pursuing Christ Himself? Or are we Christians - reading and meditating on His Word, coming to Sunday morning ready to hear God's Word and learning how to apply it, and sharing the gospel and pursuing Christ.
Let's not assume that our activities or the activities of those around us are equal to a relationship with Christ... let's proclaim the gospel until the Lord comes again... to ourselves and to others to every single generation. Pass it on.
Monday, October 4, 2010
"When in doubt.... Don't"
Romans 14:22-23
"The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin."
This past Sunday in church we talked about not violating your conscience. The sermon, based on the passage above, was very practical and thought provoking... and convicting - all of which are good things especially for me.
One of the most thought provoking things Pastor shared was that one behavior can be right and wrong at the same time. How? Because of two people with a different conscience in regard to the same issue. Interesting isn't it? Of course this refers to those things that are not explicitly stated in scripture as sin (Rom. 13:12-14; I Cor. 6: 9-10; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5:3-5). For example dancing, playing cards, having a glass of wine, full frontal hugging, music preference, appropriate dress lengths and necklines, etc.
These "gray areas" are hot spots that can easily become points of division. In regard to Christian liberty, while it is true that we have freedom in Christ (Gal. 5:1) AND all things are lawful for me... not all things are profitable (I Cor. 6:12) - we do have our brethren to consider.
Christian liberty is a blessing from God and should we choose to restrain it, the motivation should be to demonstrate love toward a weaker brother or sister. How is that demonstrating love? Because it is an expression of agape love to restrain our liberty in order to do what is best for our weaker brethren. The weaker brethren are those who may be stumbled by our actions because their conscience tells them that our action is sin.
Where does the conviction come in for me? Being a person who tends to be principle driven, it is easy for me to be dogmatic and very black and white. While God has created me this way, He has also called me to live a life full of grace and mercy toward my fellow man. So when our pastor reminded us to not go around trying to bring people around to our own personal convictions in any of these areas... I was convicted. Whether or not I intended to or purposed in my heart to force my convictions on others, I was and have been guilty of that very thing. Ouch.
Practically speaking, the basic take away thought is this: If you violate your own moral code, you are guilty of sin. When your conscience is clear you can exercise your liberty without feeling badly. So "When in doubt... Don't."
"The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin."
This past Sunday in church we talked about not violating your conscience. The sermon, based on the passage above, was very practical and thought provoking... and convicting - all of which are good things especially for me.
One of the most thought provoking things Pastor shared was that one behavior can be right and wrong at the same time. How? Because of two people with a different conscience in regard to the same issue. Interesting isn't it? Of course this refers to those things that are not explicitly stated in scripture as sin (Rom. 13:12-14; I Cor. 6: 9-10; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5:3-5). For example dancing, playing cards, having a glass of wine, full frontal hugging, music preference, appropriate dress lengths and necklines, etc.
These "gray areas" are hot spots that can easily become points of division. In regard to Christian liberty, while it is true that we have freedom in Christ (Gal. 5:1) AND all things are lawful for me... not all things are profitable (I Cor. 6:12) - we do have our brethren to consider.
Christian liberty is a blessing from God and should we choose to restrain it, the motivation should be to demonstrate love toward a weaker brother or sister. How is that demonstrating love? Because it is an expression of agape love to restrain our liberty in order to do what is best for our weaker brethren. The weaker brethren are those who may be stumbled by our actions because their conscience tells them that our action is sin.
Where does the conviction come in for me? Being a person who tends to be principle driven, it is easy for me to be dogmatic and very black and white. While God has created me this way, He has also called me to live a life full of grace and mercy toward my fellow man. So when our pastor reminded us to not go around trying to bring people around to our own personal convictions in any of these areas... I was convicted. Whether or not I intended to or purposed in my heart to force my convictions on others, I was and have been guilty of that very thing. Ouch.
Practically speaking, the basic take away thought is this: If you violate your own moral code, you are guilty of sin. When your conscience is clear you can exercise your liberty without feeling badly. So "When in doubt... Don't."
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